I don’t have an extensive technical background, so my first few weeks at Bamboo have felt kind of like computer boot camp. Not only was I learning a new company and a new job, but I also was learning new tools–SharePoint and Bamboo’s 60+ products–and all of the ins and outs that go along with them. Thank goodness I have an unlimited supply of Dr. Pepper at my disposal.
Part of my job as a technical writer is to install and test Bamboo products on a virtual machine so that I can write the documentation for them. Installing software at this level was another new step for me. (I mean, I can “install” the latest version of iTunes on my personal laptop with no problem, but that’s not quite the same thing.) During installation and troubleshooting, I found myself running into several unfamiliar names of services or applications that I was supposed to reset, stop or start. I’d never heard of them before, so figuring out where this stuff was located was a challenge in itself, let alone figuring out how to perform the necessary action.
I like to do things myself, and I imagine many of you do too. Some of these actions aren’t ones that the average end-user needs to know how to do, but maybe you want to try resolving your own error messages or troubleshooting problems sometimes. If that’s the case, then I hope this post helps. It isn’t just straightforward definitions like my other posts; instead, it’s a little bit vocabulary and a little bit “Where’s Waldo.”
Feel free to give me a shout if something doesn’t make sense. I like to think I’m perfect, but that’s probably not true.
Resetting IIS
After I’ve installed a Bamboo product, I sometimes have to reset IIS, or Internet Information Services–the Web server that Microsoft uses to host SharePoint. This is because configuration changes need to occur before the product can work, but the changes can’t happen until IIS is reset.
There are a couple of places where you can reset IIS. The easiest way, in my opinion, is to go to Start, and in the search box that reads Search programs and files, type cmd and hit Enter. At the prompt where your cursor is, type iisreset and hit Enter. IIS automatically stops and restarts.
If you’re feeling fancy (and if you have the appropriate level of administrator permissions), you can reset IIS through IIS Manager. How you access IIS Manager depends on your versions of IIS and your operating system. I found this article on IIS Manager on msdn.microsoft.com to be helpful.
- IIS 7.0, Windows Server 2008: To access IIS Manager, select Start > All Programs > Accessories > Run. In the Run text box, type control panel and click OK. Click Classic View. Double-click Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services.
- IIS 5.0 and 6.0, Windows XP Professional: From the Start menu, click the Control Panel. Switch to Classic View. Double-click Administrative Tools > Internet Service Manager.
- IIS 5.0 and 6.0, Windows Server 2003: From the Start menu, select Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
- IIS 5.0 and 6.0, Windows Server 2000: Select Start > Applications > Administrative Tools > Internet Service Manager.
World Wide Web Publishing Service (WWWPS)
The WWWPS lets your operating system act as a Web server. It works with IIS. Sometimes you might have to stop and start the WWWPS, like when you’re upgrading to a newer version of PM Central. This is because the upgrade process replaces DLLs on the server, but if the WWWPS is on, the files are locked, and they can’t be replaced during the upgrade process.
To start or stop the World Wide Web Publishing Service, you’ll need the proper administrative-level permissions. Go to the Start menu and select Administrative Tools > Services. Scroll down until you see World Wide Web Publishing Service.
You can stop or start the service two ways:
- Select World Wide Web Publishing Service, then scroll back up to the top and select Stop or Start the service from the options on the left.
- Right-click on World Wide Web Publishing Service, then select Stop or Start.
Error Log
All of Bamboo’s products have an error log. The error log is pretty self-explanatory: it’s where you can look for errors or problems that occurred while you were installing or configuring a product so that you can troubleshoot the problems. The error log is located on the SharePoint server in <drive>:WINDOWSTempBambooSolutionsbsc_bamboo_%processid.log.
Event Viewer
The event viewer stores information about events from the programs on your computer. The event viewer can help you troubleshoot problems or check recent updates. This article goes into more detail about what information is stored in the event viewer.
There are two ways to access the event viewer:
- Selecting Start, right-clicking on My Computer, and selecting Manage > Event Viewer.
- If you have Windows 7: Go to Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Settings. Double-click Event Viewer.
If you have Windows XP: Select Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Administrative Tools. Double-click Event Viewer.
Web Page Security Validation
Web Page Security Validation puts a time limit on Web pages that are on SharePoint Services Web site when users submit information to the server. This helps improve security.
Some of Bamboo’s products use Microsoft AJAX extensions, which let you do things like zoom in and out on a page or select an option from a drop-down menu. Web Page Security Validation needs to be turned on for the AJAX extensions for the product to work.
Web Page Security Validation is located in SharePoint Central Administration > Application Management > Web Application General Settings. Then scroll down the page until you see Web Page Security Validation.
Read the entire Beginner’s Guide to SharePoint Vocabulary series:
